Praise for Declan Burke: “Burke shows again that he’s not just a comic genius, but also a fine dramatic writer and storyteller.” – Booklist. “Proust meets Chandler over a pint of Guinness.” – Spectator. “Among the most memorable books of the year, of any genre.” – Sunday Times. “A hardboiled delight.” – Guardian. “Imagine Donald Westlake and Richard Stark collaborating on a screwball noir.” – Kirkus Reviews. “A cross between Raymond Chandler and Flann O’Brien.” – John Banville.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 1,594: Felicity McCall

What crime novel would you most like to have written?THE BIG SLEEP / Raymond Chandler. Great novel, iconic B/W film.Who do you read for guilty pleasures?My 17-year-old daughter Aoife’s collection. HOW I LIVE NOW / Meg Rosoff is brilliantly original. Most satisfying writing moment?Seeing a book of mine displayed in the same window as a seminal work by my journalist hero, Robert Fisk. The best Irish crime novel is …?THE BOOK OF EVIDENCE / John Banville, and I loved the combination of readability and fine writing in FAREWELL TO THE FLESH / Gemma O’Connor.What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?Brian McGilloway’s Benedict Devlin is made for a long-running television series. I’ve urged him to think in that direction.Worst / best thing about being a writer?Switching mentally between the world of the work-in-progress and the basics of everyday life, during the intensive writing stage. The pitch for your next novel is …?A mother’s legal battle against a judgment-by-morals to win back custody of her daughters after she’s cleared of assaulting her infant. And the solicitor who fought her case to the highest court in the jurisdiction, and won – making legal history. Based on real-life events.Who are you reading right now?Alice MacDermott, archive news material for an inquest this week, and a collection of scripts from emerging playwrights. With Eoin McNamee’s 12:23 PARIS saved for Christmas.The three best words to describe your own writing are …?Intense, perceptive, cynical. Or maybe that’s me.